PM Transcripts

^ 31.
1 AUSTRALIA
P1 i -AMMIEN IiSTEZR
TRANSCRIPT OF COMMENTS, PARLIAMENT HOUSE, 23 FEBRUARY 1987I
E0 PROOF-ONLY
JOURNALIST: treating Sir Joh as joke?
PM: No, I don't think anyone treats Joh entirely as a joke.
JOURNALIST: charnce-_ of becoming--Pr-imeMin-ister?
PM: I don't think so but Mr McMullan was quite right in
S looking at a vwhole range of scenarios some of them fanciful
but that The job of the Secretary of the Party, to look
at cevery conceivable scenario. He was quite, right in doing
thac. But fis I said this morning or an earlier program the
real test is will Sir Joh come down and face up to a real
parliament. He doesn't operate in a real parliament there.
He doesn't have any sort authorities within the public
Saccounts type of system that willlook-over' what he says anddoes.
He refuses to have any supervision of that sort which
every other parliament has. I doubt that Joh has got the
guts as I put it to come here and enter a real parliament
where you have to be tested. But I. repeat Sir Joh is not
the real issue at the moment. The real issue is the
temporary Leader of the Opposition Mr Howard, and Mr
Sinclair. And that is who we will be dealingwith while we get
on with running the country.
JOURNALIST: You said Sir Joh is the main game, Sir?
PM: He is the main game in the Opposition side and
ultimately he looks as though he may be the main game. But
what I am saying is that I wish he would come here and play
the game where he can be really tested. The way he is
operating and the way certainly Mr Howard and Mr Sinclair are
operating, they think he is the main game. If he is, let him
come, let's play it.
JOURNALIST: You are not underestimating him at all?*
PM: I just go about the business that I am elected to do
and that is governing the country. And you have this
sideshow going on of what passes for an Opposition and all
the fighting that is going on there. I-can't ignore that--I
have got to have a look at it and try and take it seriously
because it is the only Opposition that there is. Bu-t really
we have got a terribly difficult job of running the country
in the circumstances where, as I say, we have had so much of
our national income wiped off it. _ Every Prime Minister would
like to be in a position where you could be cutting taxes,
where you could be handing out more goodies but that would
be the most disastrous thing that could happen to this
country. There has got to be restraint, pretty tough
rest r; ai rt, ! 1d we have n t r t una to ly ( ot. the job of doiiq
i. h a